AKIPRESS.COM - A series of national training courses on anti-corruption and integrity practices for representatives of selected public healthcare and education institutions started November 27 in Tashkent, the OSCE press release said.

The two one-day courses are organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan and the Office of the Prosecutor General of Uzbekistan.

The courses are facilitated by international experts, and bring together fifty participants from different public institutions in healthcare and education, among them the Ministries of Health and of Education. The participants will learn about international experience in developing and implementing sector-tailored tools aimed at increasing transparency and integrity in the public sector.

“The implementation of anti-corruption measures in healthcare and education is of crucial importance for all governments as these two sectors serve the basic needs of people. However, at the same time, they face a high risk of exposure to corruption,” said Ambassador György Szabó, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan. “In these two days we have a unique opportunity to discuss with representatives of different sectors how international best practices could be best implemented in Uzbekistan.”

Uzbekistan ratified the UN Convention against Corruption in 2008. In the State Concept on National Security, corruption was defined by the government as a threat to national security.